Lisa Cannon-Albright, University of Utah School of Medicine
http://www.med.utah.edu/medinfo/cannon_albrightfac.html

Presentation Title: The Prospects, Problems and Power of large Genealogical/Medical Databases--the Utah Example

Presentation Abstract: Population databases combining genealogical and medical data suggest the promise of providing more personalized healthcare. Such resources have existed for decades, and have delivered on their promise to aid identification and understanding of disease genes. The Utah population resource is presented, with discussion of the prospects, problems and power of such resources.

Walter Fontana, Santa Fe Institute
http://www.santafe.edu/~walter/

Presentation Title: The Biology of Information

Presentation Abstract: The computer metaphor has become commonplace in thinking about biological systems. It is far from obvious, however, what kind of computational system would make such a metaphor meaningful. If the notion of computation that Turing, Church and Hilbert developed in the 1930s is inadequate for molecular systems, what are we talking about? As a mild antidote to an overdose of databases, I will speculate about computation seen through the prism of molecular biology.

Marcella McClure, Montana State University-Bozeman
http://shiva.msu.montana.edu/index2.html

Presentation Title: Characterization of Retroid Agents in the Human Genome: An Automated Approach

Presentation Abstract: The Genome Parsing Suite, a generic multi-step automated process, was developed to identify and characterize reverse transcriptase (RT) signals in all genomes, and to annotate the Retroid Agents that encode them. The GPS has identified and characterized 85,842 unique signals in the July 2003 freeze of human genome database.

Jeff Shen, University of Nevada
http://www.unlv.edu/faculty/jeffshen/

Presentation Title: Integrating Bioinformatics with Functional Analyses to Define the Signaling Pathways Mediating Rice Responses to Phytohormone Abscisic Acid and Gibberellins

Presentation Abstract: To study mechanisms controlling cell response to environmental stresses, we have developed databases and bioinformatics tools for predictions of rice stress responsive genes and their functions. Java programs for graphically displaying gene structures and protein motifs will be presented to illustrate how we have used these tools to successfully define several key signaling molecules.